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Clinic leaders push to separate Dahl Memorial Clinic 501(c)(3) operations from Skagway Municipality and seek distinct address
Summary
Committee members discussed confusion caused by identical names and addresses shared between the Dahl Memorial Clinic nonprofit and the Skagway Municipality, reported that the clinic's tax-exempt application has been filed (retroactive to incorporation) and proposed establishing separate physical and mailing addresses and a dedicated office lease for the nonprofit.
Committee members spent substantial time on March 17 addressing operational and legal confusion caused by overlapping names and addresses for the Dahl Memorial Clinic and the municipality of Skagway, and discussed steps to separate the nonprofit's operations.
The Executive Director told the committee the nonprofit had filed for tax-exempt status and expected approval soon: "I did get the filing done for tax accept status. That should come through anytime. It is retroactive to our date of incorporation." (transcript language). The director said having a separate physical address, mailing address and phone number for the 501(c)(3) would avoid recurring errors in vendor invoices and regulatory filings.
'There are 2 EINs, 2 NPIs, 2 NCPDPs, 2 CAQs, 2 UEIs, and they all have the same name on. Oh, and by the way, the same addresses,' the Executive Director said, describing examples in which pharmaceuticals or vendor bills were routed to the municipality because of identical naming.
Staff recommended establishing a distinct nonprofit mailing address (PO box) and using the leased State Street location as the nonprofit's physical address. The director proposed leasing a vacant office (Virginia's former office in the Portland House) for nonprofit headquarters and administrative storage; that space would also serve as the drop-in clinic or reception area if the pillbox plan moves forward. Committee members supported the proposal as a way to reduce administrative confusion and potential revenue disruptions caused by misrouted invoices.
The committee also reviewed progress on a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the municipality. Staff reported the document had been transmitted to the borough manager's office and the borough attorney had reviewed it with few objections; the borough manager had not yet provided final comments. Staff said changes to municipal code may also be needed to remove references to the clinic where the municipality currently retains those references.
No final municipal-code changes occurred at the meeting; committee members agreed to pursue a separate nonprofit address and to bring a lease offer to the board when staff confirms cash flow to support rent. Staff said some operational steps (vendor account changes and PO box) can be completed without municipal-code changes, while larger changes (e.g., removing clinic references from municipal code) will require further municipal review and possible assembly action.
The committee did not take a formal recorded roll-call vote on these organizational items; staff described them as next steps and said they will present a formal lease offer and any required MOA amendments to the board.
